Author of Home Sweet Anywhere, a best-selling memoir now published in eight languages.

20 Vacation Rental Homes In Three Years

07/06/2014 12:32 am ETUpdated
Dec 06, 2017

Imagine learning to cook in 20 different kitchens, operate 20 different washing machines and TVs, find the 20 best bus stops, subway stations, ferries or taxi stands, all without speaking the native language!

Those challenges have been part of our daily life for three years. We sold our California house and most of our things, put the rest in storage, and we've lived exclusively in apartments and houses we found on HomeAway.com in Europe, South and North America, and even when we visit our children in the U.S..

Here's a typical rental scene with my husband, Tim, about to enjoy a lunch made of ingredients we gathered at the local farmer's market two blocks from our Paris apartment last year. Eating well without breaking the bank is just one of the advantages renting an apartment offers that a hotel cannot. Having a kitchen and living in a real neighborhood where we have a chance to get to know the locals, lets us really get to know the places we are visiting.

And here he is enjoying an after-lunch read in his comfy corner!

We've rented 20 apartments and houses in the past three years, and without exception they have proven to be comfortable, clean, and just as advertised. When we have encountered small disappointments like non-working coffee pots or having trouble finding our way around, the owner or agent has always been ready to solve our problems quickly and help us enjoy our new surroundings.

Living in 20 different homes has been a heady experience for two senior world-travelers,and no matter where we go, we soon feel right at home, ready to enjoy the wonders of the world right outside our door. Of course, we always leave a little time to relax, as I was doing in our sunny patio near Lisbon, Portugal, last year

Tim and I salute HomeAway.com today as they celebrate their one millionth rental listing in 190 countries! What a wonderful boon to long-term travelers! Just think, we've used 20 or so, so we only have 999,980 new homes to explore!

Ecuador may be one of the most inexpensive places to live for retirees on a budget. Not only is the <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fortune-magazine-best-places-to-retire_n_1609136#slide=1115326" target="_hplink">cost of living extremely cheap</a>, according to Fortune magazine, but the South American country also uses the U.S. dollar. One couple interviewed by International Living lived on <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/affordable-overseas-retirement_n_1429436#s874483&title=Vilcabamba_Ecuador_From" target="_hplink">$600 a month</a>, spending as little as $1.25 per month on gas and $1.70 per month on water.
(<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/palegoldenrod/4081854019/" target="_hplink">Image via Flickr</a>, Carly Lyddiard)
<em>Correction: A previous version of this slide said that Ecuador was in Central America.</em>